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Collection  of  i^ortf)  Carolimana 

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8061  'tz  wrivd 


A  SERMON 


DELIVERED     IN 


Ch  Iponilnan  Cjntrcj), 


AT 


S^VLEjVC,   N.   C, 


BY 


REV.  F.  R,  HOLLAND, 
©n  %  late  lafimal  Jfasi  f  ap,  |wt.  4  l$fo. 


SALEM,  K.  C. 

PRINTED   BY   L.    V.    &    E.   T.    SLUM. 
1861. 


r 


A  SERMON 


DELIVERED   IN 


%\i  JUflolnan  €\nxt\ 


±1 

SALEM,  N.  C., 

BY 


REV.  I.  R.  HOLLAND 

hx  t\t  to  Hafiattai  jfaif  Jag,  Jan.  ^f%  1&6JL 


SALEM,   N.  0. 
Printed  by  l.  v.   &  e.  t.  blum; 

1861; 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


(i 


http://archive.org/details/sermondeliverediOOholl 


Salem,  M-  C,  January  7th,  1861. 
Rev.  F.  R.  Holland: 

Dear  Sir  : 

The  undersigned,  mem- 
bers of  your  congregation,  who  heard  with  pleasure  and  delight  your 
very  eloquent  and  appropriate  sermon,  preached  on  Friday  last,  the 
day  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  be  observed 
as  a  day  of  Fasting,  Humiliation  and  Prayer,  fully  sharing  the  senti- 
ments embraced  in  your  discourse,  and  believing  that  it  cannot  be 
otherwise  than  productive  of  much  good,  if  the  same  were  extensively 
circulated  and  read,  respectfully  ask  of  you  a  copy  thereof  for  publi- 
cation. We  trust  and  confidently  hope  that  you  will  feel  willing  to 
accede  to  our  request,  for  in  times  like  the  present,  we  hold  that  each 
and  every  good  citizen  of  this  hitherto  highly  favored  land,  should 
not  hold  back  anything  that  might  tend  to  the  restoration  of  peace 
and  harmony  in  this  our  now  distracted  country. 
Respectfully  yours, 

JOHN  VOGLER,  JOHN  D.  SIEWERS, 

J.  L.  FULKERSON,       CHARLES  COOPFR, 

E.  A.  VOGLER,  LEWIS  BELO, 
JOSHUA  BONER,  J.  R.    CRIST, 

F.  W.  LEINBACH,        T.  C.  PFOHL, 

Tr.  CRIST,  E-  W.  LEINBACH. 


Salem,  January  7,  1861. 

To  Messrs.  John  Vogler,  J.  L.  Fulkierson,  John  D.  Siewers, 
and  others. 

Dear  Brethren  ; 

The  discourse  delivered  by  me  on 
Friday  last  is  at  your  service.  I  agree  fully  with  you  in  the  closing 
sentiment  of  your  kind  note,  and  therefore  waive  all  hesitation  I  might 
otherwise  have  felt.  If  its  circulation  in  our  neighborhood  should 
prove  to  be  productive  of  any  good,  I  shall  heartily  rejoice,  and 
give  God  the  glory. 

With  high  regard,  I  am  affectionately,  your  brother, 

F.  R.  HOLLAND. 


r- 

^9 


Q^ 


HYMN, 

0  GOD  of  heaven  and  earth,  arise, 
And  hear  our  loud  united  cries; 
Behold  us  how  before  thy  face, 
Throughout  our  land,  and  seek  thy  grace, 

Our  trust  is  not  in  mortal  hosts, 
Nor  in  the  arms  that  guard  our  coasts ; 
ThiDe  is  the  land,  and  thine  the  main, 
And  human  force  and  skill  are  vain. 

Our  guilt  might  draw  thy  vengeance  down. 
On  every  shore,  on  every  town  ; 
But  view  us,  Lord,  with  pitying  eye, 
And  lay  thy  lifted  thunder  by. 

Forgive  the  follies  of  our  times, 
And  cleanse  our  land  from  all  its  crimes  ; 
Reform'd  and  deck'd  with  grace  divine, 
Let  our  united  people  shine. 


PEAYEE. 

Lord,  Lord  God  !  merciful  and  gracious,  long  suffering,  and  abund-: 
ant  in  goodness  and  truth  ;  we  do  not  present  ourselves  before  thee 
for  our  righteousness,  but  for  thy  great  mercies.  Behold,  we  beseech 
thee,  a  nation  at  thy  footstool,  and  hear  the  humble  confessions  and 
fervent  prayers  which  to-day  ascend  unto  thee,  our  gracious  God, 
from  millions  of  burdened  hearts.  And  when  thou  hearest  in  heaven, 
thy  dwelling  place,  Oh  forgive  and  do  according  to  thine  infinite  mer- 
cy !     Oh  Lord,  spare  thy  people,  and  give  not  thy  heritage  to  reproach! 

Oh  Lord  our  God,  unto  thee  belongeth  righteousness,  but  unto  us 
confusion  of  faces,  as  at  this  day.  We  wait  for  light,,  but  behold  ob- 
scurity ;  for  brightness,  but  we  walk  in  darkness.  For  our  transgres- 
sions are  multiplied  before  thee,  and  our  sins  testify  against  us.  Our 
iniquities  are  increased  over  our  heads  and  our  trespass  is  grown  up 
into  the  heavens ! 

Oh  Lord  our  God,  we  have  erred  and  strayed  from  thy  ways  like 
lost  sheep.  We  have  sinned  and  committed  iniquity,  and  have  done 
wickedly,  and  have  rebelled,  even  by  departing  from  thy  precepts, 
and  from  thy  judgments ;  and  thou  mightest  justly  have  cast  ua  off 
forever,  loDg  ere  this,  and  taken  away  from  us  thy  much  abused  gifts 


o 

and  bounties.  We  have  sinned  against  Leaven  and  in  thy  sight  !-~s 
Our  whole  land  is  full  of  sin  ! — Sins  agaiDSt  thy  law  and  the  gospel, 
— sins  against  judgments  and  mercies. — sins  of  commission  and  omis- 
sion, — sins  in  thought,  and  word,  and  deed  ! 

Oh  Lord  our  God,  thou  hast  given  us  a  goodly  land  to  dwell  in. — 
Thou  hast  entrusted  to  us  a  goodly  heritage.  Bat  we  have  been 
guilty  of  idolatry.  We  have  put  the  creature  in  the  place  of  the 
Creator.  We  have  idolized  our  glorious  country  and  our  civil  libera 
ties  and  privileges,  and  have  forgotten  that  in  Thy  favor  alone  is  life. 
Our  trust  has  been  too  much  in  man,  instead  of  being  fixed  on  Thee, 
who  alone  art  entitled  to  our  confidence.  We  have  forgotten  too 
much  our  responsibility  to  thee,  and  have  been  unfaithful  stewards 
of  that  which  thou  hast  entrusted  to  us.  Pride  and  luxury,  and  the 
love  of  money  have  abounded  among  us.  We  have  been  too  much 
inclined  to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  faults  of  others,  instead  cf  crying, 
each  one  for  himself :  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  Oh,  Lord, 
our  sins  against  the  grace  of  salvation  so  freely  offered  to  us,  have 
well  deserved  that  thou  shouldst  have  given  us  up,  and  taken  thy 
Holy  Spirit  from  us  ! 

But  there  is  forgiveness  with  thee,  that  thou  mayest  be  feared. — 
Thou  hast  said  that  if  we  confess  our  sins,  thou  art  faithful  and  just 
to  forgive  us ;  and  hast  assured  us  that  if  a  nation  repent  and  turn 
from  their  evil  way,  thou  wilt  repent  of  the  evil  thou  thoughtest  to 
do  unto  them.  Oh  help  us  ail  to  make  trial  of  these  encouraging 
assurances.  Help  us  to  search  and  try  our  way3  and  turn  unto  thee. 
Help  each  one  of  us  to  come  unto  the  fountain  opened  for  sin  and 
uncleaness,  and  may  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanse  us  from  all 
gin  !  and  may  we  learn,  as  a  people,  before  it  be  too  late,  that  right- 
eousness exalteth  a  nation,  and  that  sin  is  ever,  first  the  reproach  and 
then  the  ruin  of  any  people  !  Help  us  to  follow  after  truth  and  jus- 
tice in  our  relations  to  all  men  !  Remove  from  our  hearts  "that  false 
pride  of  opinion  which  would  impel  us  to  persevere  in  wrong  for  the 
sake  of  consistency,  rather  than  yield  a  just  submission  to  the  unfore- 
seen exigencies  with  which  we  are  surrounded  J"  Help  us  to  do  unto 
others  as  we  would  that  they  should  dounto  us  ! 

O  Lord,  our  God,  bless,  we  pray  thee,  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  his  constitutional  advisers,  and  grant  unto  them  due  wis- 
dom for  this  time  of  trial  and  perplexity.  Look  down  upon  both- 
houses  of  Congress,  and  grant  that   their   deliberations   may   result. 


6 

with  thy  blessing,  in  i\ storing  tranquility  to  our  distracted  country. 
Bless  the  respective  State  governments,  and  grant  that  they  may 
follow  after  the  thing3  which  make  for  peace.  Guide  and  support 
the  magistrates  of  the  land,  and  all  who  are  in  plaees  of  public  trust 
and  responsibility.  And  since  thou  hast  commanded  us  to  pray  for 
ail  that  are  in  authority,  we  also  bsseegb,  thee  to  bless  him  whom 
thou  hast  invested  with  authority  soon  to  assume  the  chief  magistra- 
cy of  the  United  States,  and  give  him  grace  to  administer  the  govern- 
ment in  thy  fear,  and  for  the  safety  and  welfare  of  the  whole  coun- 
try. Grant  0  Lord  that  the  dark  clouds  which  now  hang  so  gloomi- 
ly over  this  land,  may  be  again  dispersed,  and  the  Union  and  Consti- 
tution of  these  hitherto  United  States,  be  preserved  to  the  latest  pos- 
terity. Restore,  we  beseech  thee,  harmony  and  good  feeling  which 
once  prevailed  ;  or  if  thou  must  still  correct  us.  Oh  let  it  not  be  in 
thine  anger,  lest  thou  consume  us  ! 

0  Lord  our  God,  pour  out  thy  Holy  Spirit  upon  all  thy  churches, 
and  upon  a'l  the  inhabitants  of  this  land!  Pour  out  a  spirit  of  pray- 
er and  supplication,  and  grant  that  we  may  sorrow  after  a  godly  sort, 
And  bless  thy  word  to  our  hearts.  May  it  find  a  ready  entrance,  and 
be  abundantly  blest  to  all  who  hear  it.  He:ir  these  our  prayers,  ac- 
cept our  confessions,  forgive  all  our  sins,  and  do  for  us  above  add  tha| 
we  can  ask  or  think,  for  Jesus'  sake.     Ame^. 


bebmon 


"  Who  can  tell  if  Grod  will  turn  and  repent,  and  turn  away 
from  his  fierce  anger,  that  we  perish  not." — Jonah  3:  9. 

The  text  forms  a  part  of  the  proclamation  of  the  king  of  Nineveh, 
calling  upon  his  subjects  to  fast  and  pray  and  humble  themselves 
under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  on  account  of  the  destruction  threat- 
ening their  city  and  country.  The  prophet  Jonah  had  been  sent  to 
them  with  the  message :  "Yet  40  days  and  Nineveh  shall  be  de- 
stroyed." Then,  we  are  told,  "the  people  of  Nineveh  believed  God 
and  proclaimed  a  fast,  and  put  on  sackcloth,  from  the  greatest  of 
them  even  unto  the  least  of  them.  For  word  came  unto  the  king  of 
Nineveh^  and  he  arose  from  bis  throne,  and  he  laid  his  robe  from 
him,  and  covered  him  with  -sackcloth,  and  sat  in  ashes.  And  he 
caused  it  to  be  proclaimed  and  published  through  Nineveh  by  the 
decree  of  the  king  and  his  nobles,  saying,  let  neither  man  nor  beast; 
herd  or  flocks,  taste  any  thing;  let  them  not  feed  or  drink  water;  but 
let,  man  and  beast  be  covered  with  sackcloth,  and  cry  mightily  unto 
God :  yea,  let  them  turn  every  one  from  his  evil  way,  and  from  the 
Violence  that  is  in  their  hands.  Who  can  tell  if  God  will  turn  and 
repent,  and  turn  away  from  his  fierce  anger,  that  we  perish  not?" 

We  are  summoned  on  this  day  to  the  same  duty,  upon  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  United  States.  The  cir- 
cumstances under  which,  and  the  object  for  which  we  arc  thus  as- 
sembled, are  well  set  forth  in  the  words  of  the  President's  proclama- 
tion.    He  gays : 

"The  union  of  the  States  is  at  the  present  moment  threatened  with 
alarming  and  immediate  danger;  panic  and  distress  of  a  fearful  char- 
acter prevail  throughout  the  land;  our  laboring  population  are  with- 
out employment,  and  consequently  deprived  of  the  means  of  earning 
their  bread.  Indeed  hope  seems  to  have  deserted  the  minds  of  men. 
All  classes  are  in  a  state  of  Confusion  and  dismay,  the  wisest 
counsels  of  out  best  and  purest  men  are  wholly  disregarded; 

"In  this  hour  of  our  peril  and  calamity,  to  whom  should  we  resort, 
for  relief,  but  to  the  God  of  our  fathers  ?     His  omnipotent  arm  onl? 


8 

San  save  us  from  the  awful  effects  of  our   own    crimes  and   follies— 
our  own  ingratitute  and  guilt  towards  our  heavenly  Father. 

"Let  us  then,  with  deep  contrition  and  penitent  sorrow,  unite  in 
humbling  ourselves  before  the  Most  High,  in  confessing  our  individ- 
ual  and  national  sins,  and  in  acknowledging  the  justice  of  our  pun- 
ishment. Let  us  implore  him  to  remove  from  our  hearts  that  false 
pride  of  opinion  which  would  impel  us  to  persevere  in  wrong  for  tbe 
sake  of  consistency,  rather  than  yield  a  just  submission  to  the  unfore- 
seen exigencies  by  wbicb  we  are  surrounded.  Let  us,  with  deep 
reverence,  beseech  Him  to  restore  the  friendship  and  good  will  which 
prevailed  in  former  days  among  the  people  of  the  several  States;  and 
above  all,  to  save  us  from  the  horrors  of  civil  war  and  "blood-guilti- 
ness." Let  our  fervent  prayers  ascend  to  His  Throne  that  He  would 
not  desert  us  in  this  hcur  of  extreme  peril,  but  remember  us  as  he 
did  our  fathers  in  the  darkest  days  of  the  revolution,  and  preserve 
our  Constitution  and  our  Union,  the  work  of  their  hands>  for  ages 
yet  to  come. 

"An  omnipotent  Providence  may  overrule  existing  evils  for  per- 
manent good.  He  can  make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him,  and 
the  remainder  of  wrath  he  can  restrain.  Let  me  invoke  every  indi- 
vidual, in  whatever  sphere  of  life  he  may  be  placed,  to  feel  a  person- 
al responsibility  to  God  and  his  country  for  keeping  this  day  holy, 
and  for  contributing  all  in  his  power  to  remove  our  actual  and  ini- 
pending  calamities." 

Our  venerable  chief  magistrate  plainly  declares  that  he  sees  no 
hope  from  man,  and  the  sentiment  uppermost  in  his  mind  undoubt^ 
e&ly  is  that  of  the  text :  "Who  can  tell  if  God  will  repent  and  turn 
from  his  fierce  anger  that  we  perish  not."  Such  a  feeling  of  uncer- 
tainty and  anxiety  seems  indeed  to  possess  the  minds  of  all  thought- 
ful and  reflecting  men  in  the  present  crisis  of  our  country's  affaris. 
All  who  love  their  country  are  agitated  by  alternate  hope  and  fear; 
even  the  wisest  and  most  experienced  men,  upon  taking  a  view  of 
the  present  state  of  our  affairs,  can  only  ask,  with  painful  solicitude  i 
What  will  be  the  end  of  these  things?  And  those  who  look  to  God 
alone  for  deliverance,  can  only  say:  who  can  tell  but  God  will  tuin 
and  repent!  Oh  what  a  state  of  fearful  uncertainty  and  peril  is  this  ! 
And  this,  whether  we  are  disposed  to  deny  it  or  not,  is  the  present 
state  of  our  country. 


9 

But  is  this  feeling  of  uncertainty  and  apprehension  warrantable? 
The  king  of  Nineveh  was  but  a  heathen, — or  at  be3t  enjoyed  very, 
imperfect  means  of  instruction;  and  even  if  lie  felt  doubtful  in  legard 
to  the  consequence  of  repentance,  are  we  warranted,  with  our  supe- 
rior light,  in  taking  up  the  same  language,  and  saying:  "Who  ean 
tell  if  God  will  repent,  and  turn  away  from  the  fierceness  of  his  an* 
ger,  that  we  perish  not?"  Several  considerations  will  serve  to  show 
us  that  we  can  be  no  more  certain  than  was  the  king  of  Nineveh,  that 
the  most  we  can  say  is:  "Who  can  tell." 

1.  Nations,  as  such,  can  be  punished  in  this  world  only.  In  the 
next  world  there  will  be  no  nations;  and  therefore,  if  nations  are  to 
be  punished  for  national  sins,  the  judgment  must  come  upon  them  in 
this  world.  With  individuals  it  is  different.  The  sinner  may  pros- 
per, and  even  "have  no  bands  in  his  death,"  but  our  faith  need  not 
be  staggered  by  it,  for  we  know  that  his  day  is  eoming,  and  that  he 
will  be  punished  hereafter.  But  if  nations  are  to  be  punished,  it 
must  be  now,  because  they  cannot,  as  such,  be  punished  hereafter. 
And  that  God  does  thus  execute  justice  and  judgment  among  the 
guilty  nations  of  the  earth,  all  history  teaches  us.  Look  at  Babylon, 
Nineveh,  and  other  ancient  States.  Look  especially  at  the  nation  of 
the  Jews,  between  whom  and  ourselves,  we  so  often  run  a  parallel, 
as  indeed  there  are  many  striking  analogies.  See  them  punished  by 
one  judgement  after  another,  till  finally,  for  their  crowning  sin,  the 
Romans  came  and  took  away  their  place  and  nation.  Nor  does  the 
history  of  modern  nations  fail  to  impress  us  with  the  conviction  that 
national  sins  have  been  followed  by  national  judgments.  Did  time 
permit,  we  might  adduce  instances  to  prove  the  assertion. 

2.  There  are  times  in  the  history  of  nations  when  the  divine  for- 
bearance is  exhausted, — when  the  cup  of  a  nation's  sins  is  full,  and 
when  even  the  prayers  of  the  righteous  help  no  more.  The  righteous 
then  deliver  their  own  souls  but  nothing  more.  There  was  a  time  in 
the  history  of  Israel,  when  God  said,  "Though  Moses  and  Samuel 
stood  before  me,  my  mind  could  not  be  toward  this  people :  cast  them 
out  of  my  sight,  and  let  them  go  forth."  "Though  these  three  men, 
Noab,  Daniel,  and  Job  were  in  it,  they  should  deliver  but  their  own 
souls  by  their  righteousness,  saith  the  Lord."  It  i3  not  for  us  to  say 
whether  or  not  this  fatal  period  has  arrived  with  respect  to  our  own 
nation;  but  no  one  can  confidently  affirm  that  it  has  not.  We  know 
not  what  an  offended  God  may  see  fit  to  do  with  usi     Our  trust  is  in 


10 

film.  We  know  that  fervent  prayers  are  ascending  to  Him,  yet  all 
we  can  say  is :  "  Who  can  tell  if  God  will  turn  and  repent,  and  turn- 
away  from  his  fierce  anger,  that  we  perish  not !" 

8.  We  have  every  reason  to  fear  if  we  consider  our  national  guilf 
and  impenitence.  On  this  point  however,  we  desire  to  speak  to-day  j 
only  with  a  close  and  direct  personal  application  to  ourselves  as  indi- 
viduals. We  would  not  speak  of  the  offences  of  one  section  against 
another,  but  of  our  sins  against  God.  We  would  avoid  every  thing 
that  could  tend  to  direct  the  mind  from  our  own  personal  offences 
against  God,  either  in  private  life,  or  in  meeting  our  political  respon- 
sibilities as  citizens  of  this  country.  The  solemn  question  :  In  how 
far  have  my  transgressions  helped  to  swell  the  aggregate  of  the  na- 
tion's sins?  should  occupy  every  mind.  And  we  ask  here,  1st.  Have 
we  discharged  the  duties  of  citizens  habitually  as  unto  God?  Have 
you,  my  hearers,  tried  to  serve  your  country,  because  in  so  doing  you 
were  serving  God  ?  Can  you  lay  your  hand  on  your  heart  and  say 
that  under  a  solemn  sense  of  your  accountability  to  God,  and  in  hum- 
ble dependence  upon  Him  for  wisdom  and  guidance,  you  have  thought 
and  planned,  and  acted  and  voted  ?  Is  it  not  true,  to  use  the  words  of 
another,  that,  as  a  people,  "our  theory  of  human  rights,  our  ideas  of 
national  advancement,  our  dependence  in  time  of  peril,  have  all  been 
grounded  on  the  greatness  of  man.  With  us  man  has  been  every 
thing,  and  God  nothing.  And  we  have  been  far  more  jealous  of  the 
rights  of  man  than  of  the  duties  of  man:  more  concerned  to  assert 
our  prerogatives  than  to  confess  our  obligations.  We  have  worship- 
ped man  when  we  ought  to  have  adored  God."  Is  it  not  true  that 
"blind  to  our  faults,  proud  of  our  rapid  growth,  wonderful  develop- 
ment and  apparent  destiny,  we  have  worshipped  our  national  great- 
ness, and  forgotten  our  dependence  on  God  V*  Is  it  not  true  that  all 
along  we  have  been  looking  more  to  men  than  to  God  ?  And  this 
forgetfuiness  of  God,  this  ignoring  of  God,  this  putting  the  creature 
in  the  place  of  the  Creator,  is  one  sin  that  cries  against  us  to  heaven. 
And  can  you,  my  hearers,  can  I,  say  that  personally  we  are  not  guil- 
ty,— grossly  guilty  in  the  sight  of  God  ? 

2.  Have  we,  in  political  matters,  followed  the  golden  rule  to  do 
unto  others  as  we  would  that  they  should  do  unto  us?  Have  not 
hard  feelings,  and  unkind  words,  and  unjust  acts  too  generally  char- 
acterized political  discussions  and  proceedings  ?  Has  not  "that  false 
pride  of  opinion,  which  would  impel  us  to  persevere  in  wrong  for1  the 


11 

sake  of  consistency,  rather  than  yield  to  the  unforeseen  exigencies  by 
which  we  are  surrounded,"  prevented  justice  from  being  done  tc 
those  who  honestly  differed  from  us;  and  has  it  not,  in  its  blind  de- 
votion to  party,  led  to  the  advancement  of  reckless  and  incapable 
men  to  posrs  of  trust  and  responsibility  ?  And  if,  my  hearers,  we 
have  thought  ourselves  above  the  vulgar  abuse,  and  bitter  denuncia- 
tion, and  false  assertions,  which  have  made  politics  the  muddy  pool  it 
has  become,  have  we  not  weakly  and  foolishly  and  sinfully  counte- 
nanced the  miserable  game  we  ought  to  have  endeavored  most  ear- 
nestly to  prevent,  till  now  our  body  politic  has  become,  as  we  have 
only  too  much  reason  to  fear,  a  huge  mass  of  corruption, — "the  whole 
head  is  sick  and  the  whole  heart  is  faint;  from  the  crown  of  the  head 
to  the  sole  of  the  foot,  it  is  full  of  wounds  and  bruises,  and  putrify- 
iug  sores 


?» 


3.  Taking  a  view  in  reference  to  ourselves  as  men, — as  creatures 
of  that  God  who  created  and  redeemed  us,  aad  whom  we  are  bound 
to  glorify  with  our  bodies  and  spirits,  which  are  his,  we  are  con- 
strained to  ask,  Does  not  sin  of  every  kind  lie  heavily,  indeed,  upon 
us?  Have  we  not  erred  and  gone  astray,  like  lost  sheep?  Have 
we  not  sinned  against  a  holy  law  and  against  the  gospel  of  all  grace? 
Have  not  pride,  and  vanity,  and  wordliness,  compassed  ug  about  aa 
with  a  chain  ?  Oh !  how  has  the  sabbath  been  profaned,  and  the  or- 
dinance of  God's  house  disregarded  !  Oh  !  wha'  sins  of  ingratitude, 
and  rebellion,  and  disobedience,  and  forgetfulness  of  God,  rising 
mountain  high  before  God,  and  calling  for  vengeance  on  our  guilty 
heads !  Verily,  we  are  a  sinful  Gation;  a  seed  of  evil  doers;  children 
that  are  corruptors  !  Surely  the  utmost  that  can  be  said,  is  :  uWho 
can  tell  if  God  will  turn  nway  and  repent  of  his  fierce  anger,  with 
which  he  now  threatens  us  V 

II.  If,  under  such  circumstances,  there  is  help  anywhere,  it  is  only 
in  God,  and  is  to  be  obtained  by  repentance  and  prayer.  Of  this  the 
king  of  Nineveh  felt  fully  convinced.  He  enjoined  all  to  put  on 
Backcloth  in  token  of  humiliation  before  God;  and  rising  from  his 
throne,  in  sorrow  and  shame  for  sin,  he  laid  aside  the  badges  of  royal 
dignity,  and  sat  in  ashes,  in  token  of  humiliation  for  sin,  and  dread 
of  Divine  vengeance.  That  the  humiliation  might  be  the  more 
moving  and  affecting,  even  the  beasts,  the  flocks  and  herds,  must  be 
restrained  from  food,  that  their  pining  for  want  of  sustenance  wight 
gtir  up  guilty  roan  to  deeper  sorrow  and  humiliation, 


12 

Oh,  what  an  impressive  scene  now  presents  itself  to  the  mind, — ■ 
king  and  subjects,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  old  and  young,  cov- 
ered with  sackcloth,  and  with  ashes  sprinkled  on  their  heads  !  And 
this  was  not  all.  Their  repentance  must  not  consist  only  of  these  out- 
ward observances.  The  proclamation  of  the  king  further  requires 
them  to  "cry  mightily  unto  G-od,  and  turn  every  one  from  his  evil 
way."  He  was  sensible  of  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  prayer — > 
earnest  prayer  to  God,  and  a  turning  away  from  sin, — a  reformation 
of  life,  as  well  as  afflicting  themselves  with  fasting.  He,  no  doubt, 
reasoned  thus  :  If  we  do  not  humble  ourselves,  and  repent,  and  re- 
form, the  case  is  plain;  any  onf>  can  tell  that  we  cannot  escape;  our 
doom  is  sealed  beyond  a  question;  unavoidable  destruction  is  swiftly 
coming  upon  us.  But  if  we  repent,  who  knows  what  effect  it  will 
have  ?  Who  can  tell  if  God  will  not  then  repent,  and  turn  from  his 
fierce  anger  that  we  perish  net  ?  If  there  be  any  hope  at  all,  ii  is 
in  this  way.  And  this  he  learned  from  the  light  of  nature  and  from 
the  preaching  of  Jonah. 

We  would  assign  two  reasons  as  sufficient  to  show  that  the  only 
hope  of  our  nation  in  its  present  situation  is  in  humiliation  before 
God,  confession  of  sin,  prayer,  and  turning  from  iniquity. 

1.  Sin  has  a  direct  tendency,  in  its  very  nature,  to  injure,  to  weak- 
en and  destroy  a  nation.  It  is  the  deadly  poison  which  spreads  itself 
through  the  whole  system,  and  brings  on  decay  and  death.  It  is  the 
fatal  disease  which  will  destroy  the  body  politic,  without  so  much  as 
lifting  up  of  the  hand  of  a  foreign  foe.  According  to  the  degree  in 
which  it  prevails,  it  spreads  corruption,  injustice,  treachery,  discord 
and  confusion  through  a  nation;  it  destroys  confidence,  good  feeling 
and  love  of  country; — it  tends  to  disunion,  weakness  and  disgrace; 
and  thus  in  its  very  nature  tends  to  destroy  a  nation.  Now  repent- 
ance is  the  proper  remedy  for  the  disease.  Cease  to  do  evil,  and  the 
poisonous  principle  of  the  disease  is  removed.  Learn  to  do  well,  and 
the  opposite  principle  of  life  and  health  and  vigor  is  implanted  in  its 
stead.     But  this  is  not  all, — for 

2.  Sin  brings  on  a  people  the  just  displeasure  of  God  ;  and  from 
the  moment  the  presence  and  blessing  of  God  are  removed,  you 
may  write  of  that  nation,  Ichabod  !  The  glory  is  departed  ! — Under 
the  displeasure  of  God  the  glory  fades  away  like  a  blasted  flower,  and 
not  the  knowledge,  and  science,  and  arts,  and  natural  resources  of  any 
nation  can  prevent  it.     Now  there  ie  only    one  way  of  removing  the 


13 

curse,  and  obtaining,  instead  of  it,  a  blessing.  And  that  is  by  re- 
pentance and  prayer.  It  is  only  by  deep  humiliation  and  earnest 
prayer  that  we  can  hope  to  obtain  the  blessing.  It  is  only  to  the 
penitent  that  promises  of  deliverance  are  made,  and  without  repent- 
ance they  cannot  possibly  be  ours.  So  also  deliverance  and  blessings 
are  promised  in  answer  to  prayer  ;  and  therefore  without  earnest 
prayer  we  cannot  expect  them. 

The  people  of  Nineveh  repented  at  the  preaching  of  Jonah,  and 
Nineveh  was  spared.  And  God  has  said  :  "At  what  instant  I  shall 
speak  concerning  a  kingdom  to  pluck  up,  and  to  pull  down  aad  de- 
stroy it,  if  that  nation  against  whom  I  have  pronounced,  turn  from 
their  evil,  I  will  repent  of  the  evil  that  I  thought  to  do  unto  them." 
Let  us  therefore  betake  ourselves  to  this  our  only  refuge  and  hope. 
Let  us  deeply  humble  ourselves  before  God, — let  us  cry  mightily 
unto  him, — and  let  us  turn  every  one  from  our  evil  ways ;  and  then, 
who  can  tell  but  God  will  turn  and  repent,  and  turn  away  from  his 
fierce  anger  that  we  perish  not !  And  certainly,  if  as  a  people,  we 
make  this  trial,  we  have  reason  to  hope  that  God  will  hear  our  prayer, 
and  remove  the  dark  clouds  that  now  lower  so  threateningly  over  our 
country.  But  alas !  I  fear  that  we  are  not  so  easily  brought  to  re- 
pentance. Ten  thousand  warnings  from  conscience,  aud  providence, 
and  the  gospel,  have  not  the  effect  upon  us  that  the  proaching  of  Jo 
nan  had  upon  the  Ninevites.  "The  men  of  Nineveh,"  said  our  bless- 
ed Saviour  to  a  less  guilty  people  than  we,  "shall  rise  up  against  this 
generation  and  condemn  it."  Nineveh  never  had  such  loud  calls  to 
repentance  as  we.  Nineveh  never  enjoyed  the  thousandth  part  of 
our  privileges, — of  our  motives  and  encouragements  to  repent  and 
turn  to  God.  Yet  where  is  our  repentance  ?  Is  it  here,  in  the  midst 
of  this  congregation,  that  it  is  to  be  seen  ?  Shall  Nineveh  repent, 
and  will  any  of  you  go  on  impenitent,  luxurious,  worldly  minded, 
serenely  stupid  and  forgetful  of  God  ! 

We  are  recommended  to  observe  this  day  as  a  day  of  fasting,  as 
well  as  humiliation  and  prayei.  Fasting  is  opposed  to  feasting.  It 
is  the  natural  expression  of  our  sorrow,  just  as  feasting  is  considered 
natural  and  appropriate  to  any  joyful  occasion.  The  great  end  to  be 
kept  in  view  is  humiliation  for,  and  abstinence  from  sin.  It  is  to  be 
a  help  to  our  devotion,  to  deepen  our  feelings  of  contrition,  and  lead 
us  to  fervent  supplication.  We  need  not  understand  it  as  requiring 
of  us  a  literal  abstinence  from  food,  but  that  we  should  eat  sparingly 


14 

of  plait)  food;  not  occupying  our  thoughts  with  eating  and  drinking, 
but  giving  ourselves  to  the  works  of  repentance  and  prayer.  How 
appropriate  is  it,  then,  to  our  present  circumstances ;  and  how  plain 
that  we  have  not  come  up  to  the  requirement  of  an  occasion  like  the 
present,  when  we  have  merely  come  into  the  house  of  God,  and  joined 
our  prayers  with  those  of  the  congregation  !  Shall  we  not  repent, 
and  bumble  ourselves, — mourning,  in  the  language  of  the  prophet  : 
"every  family  apart ;  the  family  of  the  house  of  David  apart  and  their 
wives  apart ;  the  family  of  the  house  of  Nathau  apart,  and  their  wives 
apart;  the  family  of  the  house  of  Levi  apart,  and  their  wives  apart; 
all  the  families  that  remain,  every  family  apart,  and  their  wives  apart." 
And  that  not  only  for  this  day,  but  let  us  like  Daniel,  "set  our  faces 
unto  the  Lord  God,  to  seek  by  prayer  and  supplications,  with  fasting 
aud  sack-cloth  and  ashes ;"  yea,  let  us  cry  mightily  unto  God  till  he 
hear  us,  and  avert  the  judgments  and  calamities,  which  owing  to  our 
own  guilt  and  folly,  now  threaten  us  ! 

Should  the  harp  and  the  viol,  and  the  tabret,  and  pipe,  and  wine, 
be  in  our  feasts,  at  a  time  like  this  !  Should  it  be  said  of  us  :  Thou 
hast  stricken  them,  but  they  have  not  grieved ;  they  have  made  their 
faces  harder  than  a  rock ;  they  have  refused  to  return  ? 

Oh  !  that  this  day  may  be  a  preparation  and  a  blessed  introduction 
to  the  week  of  prayer  before  us  !  And  let  me  beseech  you,  my 
brethren,  to  gather  your  families  together  daily,  and  pray  for  your 
country.  Pray  in  your  closets, — pray  at  your  daily  labor,  for  our 
beloved  country;  and  pray  especially  for  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Holy 
Spirit  of  God  alone  is  the  effectual  author  of  any  work  of  thorough 
repentance  and  reformation.  Without  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  nothing  will  have  any  decided  and  thorough  effect.  "Till  the 
Spirit  be  pouied  forth  from  on  high,"  says  the  prophet,  "briers  and 
thorns  shall  come  up  upon  the  land  of  my  people."  But  when  the 
happy  time  of  outpouring  comes,  when  "the  wilderness  shall  be  like 
?i  fruitful  field;  then  judgment  shall  dwell  in  the  wilderness,  and 
righteousness  shall  remain  in  the  fruitful  field.  Then  the  work  of 
righteousness  shall  be  peace ;  and  the  effect  of  righteousness  shall  be 
quietness  and  assurance  forever  :  and  my  people  shall  dwell  in  a 
peaceable  habitation,  and  in  sure  dwellings,  and  in  quiet  resting  pla- 
ces." You  see,  then,  how  important,  how  necessary  it  is  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  God  be  poured  out,  to  produce  peace,  good  feeling, — ■ 
a  sentiment  of  union,  and  a  happy  sense  of  security  from  apprehension 
pnd  alarm, 


y  1 

15 

X)o  you  ask,  How  are  we  to  obtain  the  blessing  of  the  H<dy  Spirit? 
Surely  I  need  not  tell  you  that  it  is  by  prayer — that  for  this  blessing 
God  will  be  enquired  of.  Pray  therefore,-^pray  eernestly  and  fer- 
vently; cry  mightily  unto  God  !  Ask,  and  it  sball  be  given  !  Ifyo 
being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  Unto  your  children,  how  much 
more  t-hall  not  your  Father  in  heaven,  give  his  Holy  Spirit  to  them 
that  ask  him  ?  This  is  the  blessing  we  need  as  individuals,  as  fami- 
lies, as  a  congregation  !  This  is  the  blessiog  the  nation  needs !  Pray 
therefore  in  public  and  private,  in  your  families  and  closets  :  0 
Lord,  pour  out  thy  Holy  Spirit  upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  our  belov- 
ed country  ! 

"Let  us  suppose,"  says  the  excellent  N.  Y.  Observer^  "a  state  of 
things  which  may  be  realized  in  atswtr  to  prayer.  Let  us  suppose 
North  and  South,  East  and  West,  simultaneously  visited  by  such  an 
outpouring  of  God's  spirit  on  the  churches,  that  the  wires  that  now 
flash  alarming  signals  should  flash  the  glorious  intelligence  of  souls 
renewed  and  ehurchrs  revived,  and  Whole  cities  moved  by  the  power 
of  the  Spirit.  How  readily  might  heart  be  knit  again  to  heart !  How 
the  strength  of  christian  sympathy  IvoUld  outvie  that  of  common  citi- 
zenship !  How  one  end  of  the  country  would  send  glad  greetings  to 
the  other,  and  even  political  antagonism  be  overborne  by  the  jubilee 
of  praise  from  hearts  united  in  common  thanksgiving.  Who  shall 
say  that  such  a  result  may  not  be  realized  in  answer  to  prayer  V 

But  prayer  must  be  no  excuse  for  sloth  and  supincoess  in  duty. 
In  the  faithful  discharge  of  even/  duty  alone  can  We  expect  God's 
blessing.  And  in  the  present  crisis,  it  is  emphatically  and  preemi- 
nently our  duty  to  be  faithful,  union-loving,  and  law-abiding  people. 
Especially  slould  we  be  carefnl  not  to  be  carried  away  by  every  alarm- 
ing report  that  reaches  us;  but  in  calm  aud  hopeful  trust  in  God,  let 
us  stand  fast  by  the  Coos-titution  and  the  Union.  You  remember 
the  well  known  watchword  of  Cromwell  on  an  important  occasion  : 
"Trust  in  God^  and  keep  your  powder  dry,"  and  we  accept  it  in  so 
far  as  it  recognizes  the  duty  of  p;»ins-taj£it>g  combined  with  a  sense  of 
dependence  on  God  ;  but  we  give  you  a  better  :  "Trust  in  God, 
and  love  one  another  !"  Pray  for  the  peace  of  your  country,  and 
take  pains,  to  follow  after  the  things  that  make  for  peace  and  union.; 

Let  us,  then,  pray  and  watch,  and  repent  and  labor ;  let  us  seek 
the  Lord  with  all  our  heart*  ;  who  can  tell  but  he  will  turn  and  re- 
pent, and  again  cause  his  faoe  to  shine  upon  us  !•  Who  can  te'l  but 
we  may  be  permitted  in  this  very  year  to  join  in  such  a  thanksgiving 
as  has  never  yet  swelled  from  multitudes  of  grateful  hearts  in  this 
consecrated  house.  Who  can  tell  but  the  Lord  will  soon  give  us  the 
oil  of  joy  for  mourniug,  and  the  garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of 
heaviness !     Amen. 


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